goodgrouper
Well-Known Member
Although being a new generation shooter by birthdate, and having a lust for the toys grandpa never dreamed about, I have kept with old fashioned ideas when it has come to scales and powder dispensing. I have said on this forum many times that I like to actually "see" what is going on when I am weighing powder for my ultra long range shooting and that is why I have kept loading with the old trusted RCBS (ohaus) 10-10 scale. I have not really even been tempted to buy the Powder Pro, or the Pact, or the Lyman 1200, but after reading an excellent article on 6mmbr.com about the new RCBS CHargemaster combo test, I had to re-think my view.
After fiddling around with a test model, and reading every possible thing I could find on the unit, I bought one. I realized that my midnight reloading sessions were becoming physically taxing as I struggled for hours on end to put together <font color="blue"> PERFECT </font> ammo for long range hunting and shooting. I have loaded tens of thousands of loads in my shooting career, and I have only not trickled exactly 50 of those rounds! I was becoming aware that hunching over a trickler and scale in the wee hours of the morning was not doing my neck or my eyes any favors, so I figured that if a machine could do it as accurately as myself, it would be a worthwhile investment. <font color="red">AND BOY IS IT!! </font>
The RCBS Chargemaster combo is without doubt the sweetest green box ever made. THe scale has been improved well beyond expectations. No more 30 minute warm-ups (try 10 seconds instead). No more fluttery load cells that won't hold zero. No more re-calibration problems. No more air pressure sensing. Everything just works now.
My first time using the dispenser was 3 nights ago. I loaded up my 6br with Benchmark, my 22-250 AI fast twist with H4831sc and my 6.5-.284 with RL22 so the kernel size of the powder varied quite a bit. I started with the 6br and loaded 40 rounds for it. I still didn't quite have total faith in the unit at this point so I double-checked the first 22 charges on my 10-10 scale. It came out perfect except 2 charges were about 2 kernels high, and 3 charges were 2 kernels low. I then added in or subtracted the necessary kernels to get it perfect, then proceeded to load the remainder without double-checking the charges on the 10-10.
When I fired the 6br the following morning, the rounds that had kernels adjusted and the rounds that were not checked shot exactly the same size groups at 100 yards! Needless to say, double checking the Chargemaster is a waste of time. It is wonderful!
The unit dispensed the 32.5 grains of Benchmark in about 7 seconds, 41.5 grains in 10 seconds, and 50 grains in about 16 seconds! I loaded over 100 rounds in about half the time it normally takes.
It also stores 30 of my favorite loads (listing cartridge,bullet weight, powder, and powder weight) and can just be programmed to throw any desired weight at any time by just hitting the numbers and then Enter!
While dispensing, I tried seating bullets and vibrating the bench to see if I could get the scale or the dispenser to flutter and it absolutely never cared. Other electronic scales I have used before never worked with this kind of disturbance. The 1500 scale has a "stable" indicator on the LCD display and if the arrow is pointing to it, nothing can make it lose zero or flutter around.
The footprint of the machine is small and straightforward leaving tons of room to work with. It also has the scale in front for easy access which allows the powder hopper drain to be on the side for easy removal of the powder.
All in all, I wish this unit had been around years ago. It is a tad pricey (259-299) but it will pay for itself in time saved in only a few loading sessions. I rate it a 10 on a RCBS scale of 10-(10)! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
After fiddling around with a test model, and reading every possible thing I could find on the unit, I bought one. I realized that my midnight reloading sessions were becoming physically taxing as I struggled for hours on end to put together <font color="blue"> PERFECT </font> ammo for long range hunting and shooting. I have loaded tens of thousands of loads in my shooting career, and I have only not trickled exactly 50 of those rounds! I was becoming aware that hunching over a trickler and scale in the wee hours of the morning was not doing my neck or my eyes any favors, so I figured that if a machine could do it as accurately as myself, it would be a worthwhile investment. <font color="red">AND BOY IS IT!! </font>
The RCBS Chargemaster combo is without doubt the sweetest green box ever made. THe scale has been improved well beyond expectations. No more 30 minute warm-ups (try 10 seconds instead). No more fluttery load cells that won't hold zero. No more re-calibration problems. No more air pressure sensing. Everything just works now.
My first time using the dispenser was 3 nights ago. I loaded up my 6br with Benchmark, my 22-250 AI fast twist with H4831sc and my 6.5-.284 with RL22 so the kernel size of the powder varied quite a bit. I started with the 6br and loaded 40 rounds for it. I still didn't quite have total faith in the unit at this point so I double-checked the first 22 charges on my 10-10 scale. It came out perfect except 2 charges were about 2 kernels high, and 3 charges were 2 kernels low. I then added in or subtracted the necessary kernels to get it perfect, then proceeded to load the remainder without double-checking the charges on the 10-10.
When I fired the 6br the following morning, the rounds that had kernels adjusted and the rounds that were not checked shot exactly the same size groups at 100 yards! Needless to say, double checking the Chargemaster is a waste of time. It is wonderful!
The unit dispensed the 32.5 grains of Benchmark in about 7 seconds, 41.5 grains in 10 seconds, and 50 grains in about 16 seconds! I loaded over 100 rounds in about half the time it normally takes.
It also stores 30 of my favorite loads (listing cartridge,bullet weight, powder, and powder weight) and can just be programmed to throw any desired weight at any time by just hitting the numbers and then Enter!
While dispensing, I tried seating bullets and vibrating the bench to see if I could get the scale or the dispenser to flutter and it absolutely never cared. Other electronic scales I have used before never worked with this kind of disturbance. The 1500 scale has a "stable" indicator on the LCD display and if the arrow is pointing to it, nothing can make it lose zero or flutter around.
The footprint of the machine is small and straightforward leaving tons of room to work with. It also has the scale in front for easy access which allows the powder hopper drain to be on the side for easy removal of the powder.
All in all, I wish this unit had been around years ago. It is a tad pricey (259-299) but it will pay for itself in time saved in only a few loading sessions. I rate it a 10 on a RCBS scale of 10-(10)! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
